Mind Games
by technotreegrass
Summary: "[Aku] will never harm anyone again." You sure about that, Jack? Aside from the wedding, there are other ways he can get you.


Author's Note: A TREMENDOUS Thank You to Turquoise_Fox for suggesting the title. I was having the most difficult time coming up with one. Cutting it close, but this is my entry for Morbid Monday in #JashiWeek on Tumblr.

 _Samurai._

Jack twitched but ignored the voice, rolling over in his bed.

 _Samurai._

He grunted in his sleep and clutched the blanket tighter.

 _Samurai Jack!_

Jack gasped as he sprang out of bed, automatically reaching for his sword, but it wasn't there. He wasn't in his childhood room in the castle anymore. Now he was in a desolate wasteland, standing in red sand beneath an orange sky. "Show yourself!" He commanded, fists raised to defend himself.

 _Have you forgotten me already, Samurai?_ The voice boomed from the emptiness of the land; a source indiscernible as it surrounded Jack from all sides. _Has the soft living of the past diminished your warrior spirit?_

"You're dead," he replied, unafraid of his unseen foe. "I killed you myself. You're never coming back, _Aku_."

A blast of light blinded him temporarily, and when his vision was restored, the Shogun of Sorrow towered over him. "Oh ho, is that so, Samurai? How would you describe our current predicament then?"

"A trick, an illusion. Whatever this is, it is not real."

 _"_ _Fool!"_ The demon bellowed, causing the ground to quake. "Do not underestimate me. You really think your pathetic little sword can stop the most evil being that ever existed? I live on, I persist, all thanks to you." His right arm reached out, claws extended, pointed to the ground. Beams of magic shot out from his fingertips and there appeared a confused and scared Ashi.

Jack gasped, fear wrapping itself around his heart like a human hand. Real or fake, it didn't matter. He couldn't take that chance. He had to protect her. "Set her free," he growled, sounding more like an animal then a man.

"How can I? She is a part of me, the last remaining part of me. As long as she lives, _I_ live, and I will make everyone on this miserable planet suffer for what you have done. There is no escape from her birthright. You did not save the future, you condemned it to repeat with my daughter as the new evil overlord!"

"No! The future can change, the world will know peace!"

"Only if you finish what you started." Aku snapped his fingers and Jack's sword fell from the sky, embedding itself into the sand, separating the samurai from his love. "Kill her," the demon coldly ordered, "before it's too late."

Silently, Jack grasped the handle and pulled it from the ground, studying his reflection in the blade. Aku watched him with interest. Was he really going to do it?

"I will never harm her," Jack vowed, readying his sword for battle, "but I will gladly kill you a second time, Aku!" With a war cry, he charged at his foe, running past Ashi, grimly smiling as the sword found its target and impaled Aku's body.

Screams filled the air, but it wasn't that of his enemy. Cold enveloped Jack's entire body as blood dripped over the hilt, down the sword's handle, and onto his hands. Red blood. _Ashi's_ blood. The sword no longer penetrated his most hateful enemy, but the love of his life. "Ashi, I don't know what happened. I never meant to hurt you!"

"Time," she weakly murmured, wrapping an arm around his neck for support.

"Shhh, don't talk, I—" His eyes widened as his words died on his tongue, and insurmountable pain took over his entire being. He looked down, and a black, pointed needle attached to Ashi's arm was buried deep within his torso, his blood racing out of him. "Why?" he weakly asked, utterly confused to the sudden betrayal.

" _Time to die, Samurai Jack!"_ Her demon form hissed, sending a second needle arm deep into his chest.

 _"_ _Ashi!"_ Jack cried out, sitting up in bed, breathing heavily. Slowly his surroundings came into focus, his room at the castle. His sword lying untouched in its sheathe near his bed. His sheets remained their usual pristine white, and there was no holes in his sleeping robe. _A nightmare, just a nightmare,_ he reasoned, but her screams of pain echoed in his ears, pain caused by _his_ actions. He stared at his clean hands, but it didn't take much to see the blood that once stained them.

 _I have to know._

He crept out of his sleeping quarters and moved through the hallways, avoiding any patrolling guard. Social propriety be damned, he had to make sure she was okay. He breathed deeply in front of her door and carefully slid it open, trying not to make a sound as he stepped inside. He didn't want to disturb her sleep, just confirm that she was okay so he could relax. Dropping to his hands and knees, he crawled over to her bed. Ashi was cocooned within her blanket, he could barely see her. Gently he picked up the corner and pulled it back, only to reveal a pile of clothes. Cold fear consumed him as his jaw dropped. Was she really dead? Did she ever really follow him back to the past? Hot tears welled up behind his eyes as he tried to make sense of this.

"You underestimated me. This may very well be your last mistake," a voice growled from behind him, grabbing his right arm and locking it behind his back, the cold steel of a knife against his throat.

Jack knew she was serious but this also meant Ashi was alive and well. Not knowing how else to react to the absurdity of it all, he started laughing, until the knife dug deeper against his neck, threatening to cut a vein.

"I said _don't underestimate me_. I'd kill you here and now but I don't want to ruin the floor with your blood."

His mirth was quickly replaced with the familiar fear that haunted him all evening. Dying by Ashi's hand was an all too real fear courtesy of Aku. "Ashi, it's me, Jack!"

The knife immediately fell to the floor and his right arm freed from her tight grip. "Jack? I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She moved to his front, inspecting his throat for any damage.

He wanted to lie, to put on a brave face for her, but he couldn't ignore the screams that still echoed in his ears. He numbly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I heard you outside my door. I thought you were an intruder so I prepared a trap."

"He was right then, the soft living has hurt my skills as a warrior," he sighed, disappointed in himself.

"Jack, what's wrong? You've never come here so late in the evening before."

"I had to make sure you were alright."

"No need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. Just now certainly proved it," she smiled, leaning in to gently kiss the faint red mark her knife left on his neck.

"I…I had a nightmare," he quietly admitted, feeling shame over it. "Aku came back, threatened to take over the world again, because…"

"Because why?" Ashi gently goaded, framing his face in her hands.

He sadly looked into her eyes, "because you are his daughter."

"No, Jack. I told you, I felt him leave me when his castle fell."

"That doesn't change the fact that he helped give you life, only that his demonic powers are gone. He said as long as you exist, he does as well, and he could come back and the future would not change."

"But it has. I want what you want, peace. Your suffering is over, my love."

"Is it?" He asked, staring in horror at his hands, once again seeing the blood on them.

"It is," she insisted, placing a gentle kiss on each palm.

"Ashi…"

"Tell me everything, please," she pleaded, framing his face in her hands. "Let me help you through this."

He sighed, leaning into her comforting touch. "Aku challenged me to truly banish him from the world, to wipe away his entire existence, by…" his jaw clenched, refusing to say it. "I would never do that. I could never hurt you! But…" he lowered his eyes in shame, feeling them well with tears. "That's exactly what happened. I charged Aku. I stabbed _him_ with my sword, but he disappeared, and somehow…I had stabbed _you_ instead. I had your blood on my sword, on my hands. Ashi, it was a fatal blow, it had to have been."

"You woke up, right? You didn't watch me die, did you?" Ashi nervously asked, wiping away the tears that fell with her thumbs. He didn't deserve that taste of foreshadowing.

"You…transformed into a demon again, and killed me first. Then I woke up."

"Oh Jack," she pulled him close and let him rest his head over her heart. "No demon has a heart."

"And yours beats true," he smiled, holding her close.

"Exactly," she smiled, fighting back her own tears as she ran her fingers through his hair. "It beats solely for you, to care for you and protect you. I love you, Jack, and I promise you nothing in that dream will _ever_ come true."

"I love you too, Ashi," he whispered sleepily, wishing he could stay in her warm embrace, but he knew he couldn't, and so he pulled away. "Thank you for helping me though that, and now I must go back."

"No!" She exclaimed a little too passionately for her own liking. "What if you can't sleep? What if you have another nightmare and I can't protect you? Spend the night with me."

"Ashi!" His face turned bright red at the thought of her suggestion. "That's inappropriate, improper! What if we get caught?"

"You and your well-being are much more important to me then social rules. Now come on," she took his hand and had to physically pull him closer to her bed. Jack stared at it in horror, like it was another villain he had to defeat.

"But you…me…what if I can't control myself?" He couldn't begin to put names to the feelings he had, nor the desire that he had for her, but she deserved better than a half-asleep roll.

She shook her head. "I know you; I _trust_ you; you would never hurt me." She laid down on her mattress and patted the space next to her. "You don't have to, but I _really_ want you to."

He took a deep steadying breath and then joined her on the bed, smiling as Ashi kissed his forehead. "Good night, Ashi."

"Good night, Jack," she returned, smiling as he immediately fell into a deep sleep and curled up against her. "Sweet dreams."


End file.
